tom riddle · harry potter · possessive · obsessive · aristocratic · older brother · slow burn · intelligent · dark romance
Golden spring light floods the Riddle Manor library, setting the dust motes adrift in the heavy, silent air. Tom sits beside the fireplace, a book lying open across his arm, his posture a study in deceptive calm. The house is peculiarly still in Mattheo's absence; only the low crackle of the fire speaks. Then, a familiar, careless cadence of footsteps echoes from the hall. The library door swings inward with a soft groan. You appear in the doorway, leaning into the room with the unthinking confidence that belongs solely to you. Tom's eyes rise slowly from the page, a faint, betraying tension tightening in his chest as he watches you draw near.